Power Lawyers: THR Unveils America's Top 100 Entertainment Attorneys

Why he matters: This past awards season, Schreck had plenty to root for with clients Ang Lee (who won the best director Oscar for Life of Pi) and Tony Kushner (screenplay nominee for Lincoln). And though Lee's deal was papered years ago, Schreck says he repeatedly went to the mat for the helmer over marketing and distribution matters. The New York-based former litigator says he can enter a negotiation guns blazing when necessary but that the cooperative approach yields more goodwill. "When Tony Goldwyn needed three episodes off from Scandal to executive produce and direct a pilot he had developed, we had to convince ABC Studios how meaningful this was to Tony, and because of the approach we took when making his deal, everyone was much more amenable to figuring it out," says Schreck of Goldwyn's untitled drama, which has been ordered to series at WE tv. He also reps Elementary's Lucy Liu and Aidan Quinn as well as Kevin James and Sarah Jessica Parker.

Bid deal: Schreck helped score a $15 million payday for Ed Helms for the third chapter of The Hangover franchise.